The devil and the pale moonlight
by Tober
Summary: Julian continues to struggle with the difficulty and disappointment surrounding Sasha as a new addition to his kingdom and the Brujah clan could bring it all crashing down.
1. Black Kat

Julian sighed, taking a moment to look wearily at Cash. "Is the 11:00 appointment here?"

"Yeah," Cash nodded as he moved to stand. "Yeah I'll go down and get her. She's been waiting for about 30 minutes now. I told her she shouldn't have come so early, but she didn't seem to mind...or care."

As Julian found himself alone, he took a moment to rub his eyes before gathering his thoughts. So much seemed to be happening lately it made his head spin. Sasha was a constant worry; her antics had been leaning more Brujah as of late, something that deeply troubled Julian. Regardless of her clan, she was still his family. She was the only member of his family that knew him completely, a fact he still had not grown comfortable with. The moment of reflection was cut short as Cash and an unfamiliar face entered the study.

There was something unique about this woman that now stood beside Cash, Julian noted to himself. She was about as tall as Cash was, maybe having an extra inch or so on him. Her build was willowy but carefully camouflaged by a loose fitting black dress that ended just above her knees. Her eyes were a pale blue, the color of a washed out winter sky. Jet-black hair flowed straight over her shoulders to hang at the middle of her back. Still, for all the normalcy in this woman's appearance, something was.....

"Julian?" Cash interrupted, eyebrows quirking up in concern.

"Pardon me." Julian made a quick move to cover his lack of focus, surely not a good first impression for the prince of a city as prized as San Francisco to make. With the grace of a dancer, Julian stood from behind his desk and moved towards Cash and the stranger. "For a moment, my thoughts were elsewhere."

A slight, still concerned nod came from Cash. "Julian, this is Ms. Kat Stone. She has requested asylum in your land." Cash moved to Kat's side, then behind her. It provided him the opportunity to either leave or to defend, whatever action was more warranted.

Kat continued to remain standing silently, eyes not leaving Julian as he stood across from her. _"I must remember my manners..."_ she repeated in her head several times as she awaited the Prince's first words.

Julian offered Cash a nod to leave. "Thank you Cash, that will be all for now. Please see that the car is ready to leave in 30 minutes."

Without question, Cash offered a curt nod before turning to leave, shutting the door behind him.


	2. Broken Home

Kat remained quiet and motionless as Cash exited, leaving only her and Julian in the room. Her eyes followed Julian closely, careful not to meet his directly for too long. To do so would appear rude she knew, and she did want to make a good first impression badly. Still, the long delay in the Prince addressing her caused her stomach to flinch for a moment. While Kat contemplated her first impression, or lack thereof, Julian remained standing just in front of her, still studying her. His head still unclear, an after-effect from thinking about Sasha, he finally found his voice and gestured to a burgundy leather chair. "Please, forgive my rudeness. Have a seat with me?"

The two vampires moved to sit and the uncomfortable silence followed them. Finally Julian found his voice. "You come to my kingdom seeking asylum. What exactly caused you to move here?"

"_Direct, isn't he?" _Kat mused to herself before replying. "I seek safety, and perhaps a new start. I am from Seattle and I had lived there for many years with my sire." Kat paused, her eyes for the first time move away from Julian, looking at her lap. "My sire was a primogen. He was strong, noble, fair...but...everything fell apart."

"Please, take a moment if you require," Julian interjected, seeing Kat's composure starting to crack. "Continue when you feel at ease doing so."

"Thank you," the woman replied, taking the offered moment to fiddle anxiously with her hands. After a minute or so had passed, she looked up with new resolve. "My sire was slain by outsiders seeking to destroy not only his clan, but to destroy the kingdom we were part of." Kat paused again, eyes meeting Julian's. "I don't know how many others survived. I only know that the fighting reached a point that the prince no longer had a true kingdom to rule over...in essence we were disbanded for lack of a better word. From what I know, the remaining fled for their safety, for their lives."

Julian's eyes widened slightly as Kat's story progressed. "These outsiders you speak of...what do you know of them? Who are they?"

"I don't know," Kat's voice broke with emotion. "I just know...I know there were many of them, that they attacked on all fronts. They leveled our power structures, they manipulated our income sources. There attack was complete, devastating. Like nothing I have seen before."

"I see," Julian stood, his own anxiety beginning to grow. He paced a bit to burn off some nervous energy, but at the same time tried to remain emotionless. "I can ask this no other way, and I apologize for the bluntness as I can see you still bear deep emotion wounds from your ordeal. Were your attackers Sabbat?"

"I...I..." Kat's voice trailed off, her eyes again focusing on her lap. "I don't know. I can't say for sure, in fact, I don't think anyone knew for sure." Another uncomfortable break in conversation passed before Kat looked up again. "I am asking for asylum, will you accept or deny my request?"

"_Such a story, such a request." _Julian thought to himself as he took another moment to study Kat. Using all of his senses, he reached out to her; to feel her true emotions, attempt to read any lies or half-truths. He found that her emotions were true; she was scared, nervous, even on edge. There was definitely sorrow in her, it almost appeared as a black pit in her soul, something he had never visualized so clearly before. With a sigh he delivered his decision. "I will grant you asylum. While you are here, you will reside with your fellow clan mates until a sufficient amount of time has passed. Your primogen will be responsible for your actions, and also be responsible for acquainting you with the city. First, I will need to know your clan."

Nodding, Kat stood. "I am of Brujah blood."

"_Just great."_ Julian thought, managing to suppress a now automatic gut reaction and wince. "Cameron is your primogen now. I will escort you to the Haven so you may meet him along with others that reside here under my care and direction." A hand extended forward, motioning Kat through the door.


	3. First Meeting

Lilly observed The Haven from her room above the dance floor. _"Quiet night so far…_" she thought as her eyes moved from the stage to the bar. Tonight attracted the usual crowd, a comfortable mix of humans and vampires, neither overly aware of the others' presence for the time being. Reaching to a small ebony table Lilly picked up a glass of red wine and took a sip. She turned, bringing her almost face to face with Cameron, something she would prefer to avoid at all costs. "People announce themselves when they enter a room." she stated with a sneer before taking another sip of her wine.

A slow and easy grin crossed Cameron's lips. "Perhaps I'm not the kind of people you're used to dealing with." In his short tenure as Brujah primogen Cameron had managed to ruffle more than a few feathers. Ruffling Lilly's was the best; nothing pleased him more to see her cool composure slip and her vain attempts to conceal it. He had gotten it down to such a science he felt secure placing money on the fact that within 5 minutes of entering a room he could set Lilly off. The thought had crossed his mind that messing with the Prince of the City's main vampiric squeeze could land him in a tight situation. Lately it seemed to be a well known fact that Julian had been spending more and more time with Caitlin….well known to everybody but Lilly it seemed. Speaking of Lilly, Cameron broke free of his reverie to find her still glaring at him. "You know why his royal majesty called us all down here, or is that just a ploy you used to get me down here to yourself?"

"_Calm….calm…" _Lilly told herself, making a smart move to set the glass down before she snapped it into shards. "I know nothing more than you. Julian requested all primogens meet at The Haven. With the meeting being called on such short notice one can only imagine what the purpose is."

"Hmm, keeping you out of the loop too, princess? Such a shame, such a shame." Cameron sat down on a red velvet settee, carefully studying Lilly's face to gauge her reaction. Lately she had been getting better at hiding her emotions, but he felt certain this would get a rise out of her. Sure enough, the corners of her eyes twitched, followed by the corners of her lips, to be finished by a flush to her cheeks. So wrapped up was Cameron in his study he hadn't noticed Lilly had crossed the room to stand in front of him until he felt the sting of her hand across his cheek. She remained standing, glaring down at him, her breath measured and heavy. _"Unexpected."_ he thought as he lightly rubbed his cheek. "I've seen the way he treats you lately. You deserve better, and admit it, you've been thinking the same yourself. You need to be with someone who will treat you right, like the Toreador queen that you are…."

"Am I interrupting something?" Julian strode into the room. The other primogen were just a step behind, followed by a stranger.

"Nothing, just Cameron and myself exchanging pleasantries." Lilly moved away, picking up her glass again and taking a sip.

"Good." Julian's eyes moved from Cameron to Lilly, very sure that something more was going on between the two. _"Now is not the time,"_ he told himself before moving to the side, allowing Kat to step forward. "This evening a stranger visited me, requesting asylum. I have heard her story and granted her request." Sliding his arm around Kat's back he moved her forward to stand next to him. "This is Kat. She is Brujah, so Cameron, you will be responsible for her."

Kat's pale blue eyes slowly surveyed the room, falling on each primogen briefly before meeting Cameron's. She took a hesitant step away from Julian towards the red couch, unsure if this action would be taken the wrong way. Cameron stood, giving Lilly a sideways glance before crossing the distance between himself and the newcomer. "Welcome to San Francisco Kat," he offered his hand to her. "I hope you find yourself happy in your new home."

Kat remained silent, offering a slight nod as she shook Cameron's hand. _"I must remember…must remember…"_ she repeated to herself before finding her voice. "Thank you. I hope I find myself happy here as well."

"Come on, let's go downstairs and allow you to meet your fellow Brujah. Lilly," Cameron turned before moving through the door with Kat, "I do hope we'll take up the rest of this conversation later?" A smirk and chuckle followed Cameron as he left.

Cash cleared his throat. "I'm…um…gonna go downstairs too. Make sure they stay in line."

Daedalus followed the others, quietly leaving without an explanation. Only Lilly and Julian remained, both staring wordlessly at the other, until Lilly moved to pick up her glass and leave the room as well. Julian quietly cursed under his breath, wondering what exactly he had done to have such poor luck today before moving to leave as well.


End file.
